Many technological devices including, for example, wheelchairs help to bridge the gap between what a user can do unaided and the demands of a particular task or environment. However, the systems for controlling such devices are typically externally-referenced, requiring the user to have appropriate motor functions in order to properly operate them.
Individuals with severe motor impairment of the upper quadrants are often limited in, or even excluded from, use of such devices. Existing methods of accessing mobility or communication devices generally require either head stability (i.e., to use a head pointer) or upper extremity control (i.e., to use a joystick). Individuals with severe motor impairment of the upper quadrants frequently have neither head stability nor functional upper extremity use. Thus, standard interface methods are suboptimal for this population.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for mechanisms by which users having little or no extremity function or head stability are able to control powered devices.